The National Pension Service, the world’s third-largest pension fund which is based in South Korea, has stressed its unwavering stance in the adoption of environmental, social and governance factors across its investments. Kim Yong-jin, chairman and chief executive officer of the NPS, pledged to motivate companies it has invested in and external partners, to which NPS deploys capital, to adapt to NPS’ responsible investing strategies. The move will allow companies to get ahead of t

Market Sept. 28, 2021

Small-cap stocks related to the local media and entertainment business are on a bull run, as traders hoped to piggyback on the success of the Netflix megahit “Squid Game.” Content production firm Bucket Studio saw its stock price nearly double over the course of three trading days, since the stock market reopened Thursday following the national Chuseok holiday. Last week, Bucket Studio hit the price ceiling on both Thursday and Friday, and rose 2 percent Monday. Its market cap appr

Market Sept. 27, 2021

South Korean mobile payment app operator Kakao Pay said Friday it has delayed its plan to go public yet again amid toughened consumer protection regulations in the domestic market. Kakao Pay, a 55:45 joint venture of internet giant Kakao Corp. and China’s Ant Group, has revised its prospectus to carry out its initial public offering process by three weeks. Its IPO size, at up to 1.53 trillion won ($1.3 billion) via 17 million new shares, will remain unchanged. According to the latest fi

Market Sept. 24, 2021

Lotte Chemical said Friday it planned to commit 49 billion won ($41.7 million) worth of capital to a new fund dedicated to tackling environmental, social and governance issues. The money will go into a new 50 billion-won ESG fund, the course of four years, according to a disclosure submitted to the Financial Supervisory Service Friday. The fund will be managed by retail-to-chemical Lotte conglomerate’s early-stage investment arm Lotte Ventures, formerly known as Lotte Accelerator. Lotte

Market Sept. 24, 2021

South Korean companies’ climate targets are not grounded in scientific evidence, a study showed Thursday, indicating that ambitious goals to achieve carbon neutrality for a sustainable future lack substance. This heightens calls for the country, which recently unveiled its ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, to have its companies take more concrete action to cut greenhouse gas emissions -- a major culprit behind global warming -- ahead of the Group of 20 Summit in October, acc

Economy Sept. 23, 2021

Ant Group-backed financial technology firm Kakao Pay is facing renewed scrutiny ahead of its upcoming initial public offering as South Korea’s tech crackdown shows no signs of abating. Regulators’ tightening grip on online financial platforms puts Kakao Pay, known for its mobile payment app interoperable with Korea’s popular messenger app KakaoTalk, under mounting pressure to revise its prospectus again to scale down its fintech service. The stock market debut of Kakao Pay,

Market Sept. 22, 2021

The son of lawmaker Rep. Chang Je-won was booked by police for refusing a field sobriety test after a car accident occurred in southern Seoul on Saturday. Chang Yong-jun, 21, was involved in a car crash at around 10:30 p.m. Saturday. According to police, the son of the three-term conservative lawmaker headbutt a police officer who requested Chang take a field test to see if he was driving under the influence. The car crash reportedly caused no injuries. Chang, who is a rapper that performs un

Social Affairs Sept. 19, 2021

The debut solo release “Lalisa” from K-pop girl group Blackpink member Lisa was ranked No. 1 on global YouTube music charts in its first week, the singer‘s agency YG Entertainment said Sunday. “Lalisa” was the highest-ranked song on YouTube‘s music chart for the week starting Sept. 10 -- its release date -- with 216 million views, pushing out “Raattan Lambiyan” by Tankshik Bagchi, Jubin Nautiyal & Asees Kaur from the top spot. Its music vide

Performance Sept. 19, 2021

The National Pension Service, Korea‘s largest public pension scheme, has 1.57 trillion won ($1.33 billion) exposure to stocks of what was labeled as “war crimes companies” during the World War 2, data showed Sunday. NPS was directly investing some 880 billion won in companies suspected to have contributed to Japanese ruling of the Korean Peninsula during Korea’s colonial era as of February, according to data compiled by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea‘s lawma

Market Sept. 19, 2021

Not-for-profit civic organization Voluntary Agency Network of Korea said Sunday its campaign to petition a website to recognize Jikji Simche Yojeol as the oldest book with movable metal type in the world has borne fruit. Timeline Index, a Netherlands-based project to collect and disclose information about historic assets, has recently recognized the Buddhist doctrinal book as the oldest book printed using movable metal type, upon VANK’s request for correction, according to VANK. Printed

Culture Sept. 19, 2021

With the independence of Hyundai Motor Group’s financial arms looking increasingly likely, concerns are growing that they will face higher debt financing costs as a result. The prospects have been raised amid signs of governance restructuring for Hyundai Motor Group to allow a full-fledged family succession that would consolidate Chairman Chung Euisun’s control. A carve-out of financial arms is essential to Hyundai Motor Group’s transformation into a holding firm under Korea

Market Sept. 16, 2021

South Korean health care startup U-Medi on Wednesday hosted a commemorative event marking the 71st anniversary of the Incheon Landing Operation in Camp Humphreys at Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. The event, held in Pyeongtaek Ray Duke Memorial Library inside the military post, is the first joint event of the United States Forces Korea and private sector entities, according to U-Medi Chief Executive Officer Ha Won-beom. U-Medi, the Incheon-based startup, said the commemorative event is aimed at

Defense Sept. 15, 2021

Fubon-backed Hyundai Card said Wednesday that it has “no plan” to carry out an initial public offering, despite heated market anticipation for the firm’s market debut over the last two years. “We do not have a plan to carry out an IPO,” a Hyundai Card official told The Korea Herald. "Regarding the Fubon-Affinity deal, it was made without an IPO in mind, it was a different alternative." The credit card firm was under an IPO mandate stipulated in a contra

Market Sept. 15, 2021

지난 2년간 기업공개를 미뤄온 현대카드가 IPO 진행 계획이 없다고 밝혔다.  　 현대카드측은 코리아헤럴드와의 전화인터뷰를 통해 “IPO를 할 계획이 없다” 며 “주관사들과 계약관계까지는 확인하기 힘들지만, 푸본과 어피니티 딜 관련해서는 IPO를 염두에 두지 않고 다른 선택지를 한 것”이라고 말했다. 　 현대카드는 어피니티와 싱가포르 투자청등 재무적투자자와의 2017년 계약을 맺으면서 상장을 준비해왔다. 　 당시 어피니티와 싱가포르 투자청, 알프인베스트는 현대카드 지분 24%를 인수할때 계약사항에 현대카드가 2021년까지 기업공개를 완료해 재무적투자자의 투자금 회수를 돕는다는 내용이 포함된 것으로 알려졌다. 올해 내 상장이 사실상 어려워짐에 따라 어피니티는 자금 회수를 결정했고, 대만 푸본금융그룹이 현대카드 지분을 매입함에 따라 숨통이 트이게 되었다. 전문가들은 “시장점유율, 해외 진출 실패로 상장을 포기한 것으로

한국어판 Sept. 15, 2021

Korea Development Bank’s Chairman Lee Dong-gull called on the government to take down the antitrust hurdles standing in the way of proposed mergers, which he said are crucial for businesses to survive. Lee leads the main creditor behind the business integration of Korea’s flagship air carriers Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines, as well as the integration of the world’s largest shipbuilders Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries -- both base

Market Sept. 13, 2021